The “Citizen Kane” of anime, “Death Note” sets the standard that few programs of any genre have attained.  In “Death Note,” a young man discovers a mystical book that kills any person whose name he writes on its pages. What would you do with that kind of power?  Excellence in storytelling, imagination, characterization, and suspense will keep you riveted and binging from start to finish. This is not for everybody however—it can sometimes be shocking and violent (as much anime). And it’s not perfect—it does have its ups and downs, but the ups are many and extremely high while the downs are few and mild. If you like the first episode, you’ll love the rest of the program; if you don’t like this first episode, the series is not for you. Try “Death Note” to see the greatness that anime (and film in general) is capable of.

2021 Update: 
I haven’t seen the series again since I first saw it about 7 years ago. Nowadays, I don’t think the series is as great as I had originally thought, although I still consider it one of the best. It’s just that I’ve seen many more anime over the years, and later programs like “Attack on Titan,” “Erased,” “Made in Abyss,” and others evolved and improved the genre. In the list of great anime, “Death Note” has a lot more competition than it did when first released. I wouldn’t call it the “Citizen Kane” of anime anymore, not THE greatest, but still a classic.

Not For Kids
Japanese audio with English subtitles

“Death Note” (2006)